


Way With Words

by Robyn_Runestone



Category: Layton Kyouju vs Gyakuten Saiban | Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Genre: Chapter 3 Spoilers, Chapter 4 broke me, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hugging, Layton vs Wright Spoilers, Luke Triton is Babey, Luke Triton needs a hug, Phoenix being a supportive uncle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27648119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robyn_Runestone/pseuds/Robyn_Runestone
Summary: “He was up all night crying. I didn’t know what to say to him.”When words fail him, Phoenix Wright does what he can to comfort the devastated boy mourning for his professor.
Relationships: Phoenix Wright & Luke Triton
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I really liked the dynamic between Phoenix and Luke in this game. The fact that Phoenix pretty much adopts Luke in the absence of the Professor is really sweet. I also like how they are there for each other after they both lost someone close to them.
> 
> Anyway, please comment and leave kudos if you enjoy this! I really enjoyed creating this and I hope to write more thing like it in the future.

Phoenix didn’t realise how dark it was until the loud clatter of metal baking trays brought him back to reality. He glanced out the bakery window and made a quiet exclamation of surprise at how pitch-black it was out there. How long had he been working for?

The attorney rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands before looking back down at his notebook. He sighed heavily. He had been looking over his notes since sunset, and yet he wasn’t any closer to figuring what the heck had happened. Like, how could he succeed in solving this case after investigating the cause of a completely unrelated one? He didn’t have much to work with, and there was no way he would be able to ask the only two witnesses. It was very late in the evening, so the guards won’t let him talk to Maya. And the Professor was, well, you know...

Phoenix rolled his feather quill between his finger and thumb, deep it thought. He tried looking over his notes again but he found that his vision kept getting blurry. He rubbed his eyes again. After a few more minutes of trying, and failing, to get any more information into his head, he shut his notebook with a huff of frustration and stood up out of his chair. He rubbed the small of his back with the tips of his fingers and finally realised how fatigued he was. His back hurt from sitting hunched over the table all evening and his mind was a jumbled mess. Maybe it was time for him to hit the hay and try again before tomorrow’s trial.

Aunt Patty was standing in the kitchen and cleaning some oven trays in a vat of warm water. She noticed Phoenix stand up and she gave him a good-natured smile.

“Heading to bed?” she asked him. Phoenix nodded his head at the plump woman.

“Yeah, can’t win a trial on zero sleep,” he said. He rubbed at his tender sinuses and Patty nodded understandably. 

“That’s a good idea, you need all the rest you can get,” she said, “While you’re up there, would you mind bringing this to Luke? He hasn’t eaten since this morning.”

As she said this, the woman walked over to Phoenix a gave him a plated sandwich and a glass of water. A melancholy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.

He hadn’t seen Luke since they got back to the bakery. As soon as they set foot in the building, Luke had shut himself up in the bedroom and refused to talk to anyone. It was understandable; he did just see his mentor become a gold statue. Phoenix knew that if he had lost Maya to the same fate, he would be just as devastated. 

“Of course I’ll bring this to him,” he said to Patty. She smiled thankfully.

“Thank you dear, have a good sleep,” she said. 

“You too,” the man replied.

He walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs towards Espella’s bedroom. The wood squeaked under his feet and he cringed at one particularly loud one. He knew it wouldn’t wake anyone since nobody in the house was asleep, but he didn’t like disturbing the silence of the building.

He reached the top of the stairs and took a deep breath as he walked towards the door. He had been inside Espella’s room many times, but the sight of it formed a knot in his stomach. It didn’t feel right to enter her bedroom while she was still under arrest. 

Phoenix placed the plate and the glass on the floor to free his hands before taking a deep breath and gently knocking on the door. No response.

“Luke?” he spoke through the door, “I just wanted to bring you some food. I’m going to come in and leave it on the bedside table, okay?”

There still wasn’t a response, but he could hear some muffled noises coming from the bedroom. He picked up the cup and the plate and slowly opening the door.

The bedroom was as dark and gloomy as a graveyard. The dim light from the torches outside found their way inside through a slightly-opened window, but the rest of the room was bathed in darkness. He could barely see the you boy curled up on a bed in the corner.

Luke was sitting on the mattress with his knees brought up so that it covered his face. His arms were tightly hugging his legs and his entire body was shaking from the force of all of his unrelenting sobs. Phoenix didn’t like looking at this ordeal, but he just couldn’t look away from it. The state of absolute hopelessness Luke was in was enough to make anyone’s heart break.

Phoenix walked past and quietly placed the plate and glass on the bedside table. Luke didn’t acknowledge the man’s presence.

The more he looked at him, the more Phoenix could see how much of a mess the apprentice was in. His blue delivery-boy hat was left sitting beside him and his hair was all tousled and sticking at random angles. The sleeves of his blue jumper was damp with sweat and tears. 

Phoenix hated seeing him like this. Since he had met Luke, he had always seemed like a cheerful and determined child who could push through anything. Phoenix would do anything to see his sweet little smile again, but he didn’t know what to do.

He tried to say something to Luke, but he couldn’t push any words out of his mouth. What on earth could he say? ‘It’s going to be okay’? Well, that’s highly doubtful. The child seemed pretty close to the Professor, so it didn’t seem possible that he would ever be okay again with that man gone and out of his life.

Phoenix decided not to say anything. Words wouldn’t improve the situation. Words wouldn’t soften this tragedy. Instead, he silently sat down next to Luke. The boy didn’t show any sign of acknowledgement. 

Suddenly, as if it was moving on it’s own, the attorney’s hand lifted up and placed itself firmly, but kindly, onto the boy’s shoulder. Luke immediately tensed up at the touch and stopped crying. Phoenix’s eyes widened slightly.

Why did he do that? Luke most likely didn’t want to engage in any kind of physical contact in his current state. He probably didn’t want anyone in the same room as him at all. Was Phoenix’s attempt at comfort making things worse? He should probably withdraw and leave the room.

The man was about to take his hand off of his shoulder, but something happened. Luke’s body started moving slightly. He lifted his head so that his eyes could be seen just above his knees. He the turned his head to look at Phoenix. His eyes were puffy and red, and there were dark shadows underneath them. There were still tears pouring from them and leaving shiny trails down his pale cheeks.

Then, he shuffled towards Phoenix and startled him by hastily wrapping his arms around the older man’s waist and burying his face in his chest. He started sobbing again; but this time it was broken up by loud, mournful wails. It was all Phoenix could do not to start crying himself. Luke was broken. When he lost Professor Layton, he lost a piece of himself.

The attorney swallowed back a lump in his throat and wrapped his own arms around the trembling boy in a reassuring embrace. He absentmindedly started rocking himself back and forwards in a soothing rhythm. Luke didn’t do much. He held Phoenix a little more tightly, as if the man would simply float away if the boy didn’t continue to hold onto him. Phoenix held on tighter as well, silently telling him that he would stay with him as long as he was needed.

Luke may be falling apart, but Phoenix would do whatever he could to put him back together. He may be missing a piece of himself that the Professor once took up, but that just meant Phoenix had to be that missing piece.

And once the trial started the next morning, Phoenix would be twice as determined to give Luke, and Professor Layton, the justice they deserve.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke is still trying to process the fact that Professor Layton is gone. 
> 
> This is the story from Luke’s perspective. This will tell you how he felt throughout the story and what he was thinking when he accepted Phoenix’s offer of comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I didn’t get any requests for a part two, but I decided to write it anyway. 
> 
> Thanks to all the people who left kudos on the last chapter! I really liked creating this and I’m glad people enjoyed it.

Luke had long since given up on trying to dry his tears. Instead, he continued to sit curled up on the bed and freely wallow in his own grief.

His chest was aching as the hours of sobbing caused his muscles to work overtime. His throat felt sore and scratchy from crying out in despair. He was severely dehydrated, but he didn’t want to go downstairs. Everything hurt, but he just couldn’t make himself stop crying. Every time he felt like he was calming down, the awful image of the Professor turning to gold would form in his head and he would end up breaking down again.

He felt so... lost. Everything was different without his mentor pointing him in the right direction. Why did it have to be Layton? Why couldn’t it have been someone else; or nobody at all? Why did that... that... witch have to ruin everything? 

Luke didn’t want to think ill of Maya at first, he really didn’t. But after hours upon hours of reflection and going through his memories, he slowly convinced himself otherwise. He slowly convinced himself that Maya was the witch who took his best friend away from him. If it wasn’t her, then why did she drop the magic sceptre? Why did she not try to stop the witch from hurting the professor if she really was innocent?

Luke squeezed his eyes shut as another heart-wrenching sob tore its way out of his throat. He felt hopeless. Pathetic. He wondered what the professor would think if he saw the boy in that state. He would probably feel upset about seeing him give up so easily. At that moment, however, Luke couldn’t care less. He didn’t care about Layton thinking less about him as long as he was with him. 

He wanted his mentor to be there with him, to talk to him, even give him a puzzle or two. He just wanted to see him alive. To hear his voice. To feel his embrace.

Luke suddenly took in a sharp breath and stopped trembling. He felt something. He felt a warm, firm hand resting on his shoulder. It felt familiar. He felt this kind hand many times before, whether it was to comfort him or congratulate him for another job well done. Could it be? Was he really...?

The boy lifted his head so that his damp, sore eyes were peeking over his knees. He looked beside him. Then, his heart fell into the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t who he hoped it was. The hand didn’t belong to the person he wanted to see the most.

Mr Wright was sitting next to him on the bed. His hand was resting on Luke’s shoulder and his face wore a mixture of slight surprise and deep concern. 

Everything set in all at once. He realised how brutally real this entire situation was. No matter how much he wished or hoped, he knew deep down that he would never get to see Professor Layton again. He was gone.

Professor Layton was gone.

Luke felt his entire body shake and tremble. Fresh tears spilled over his eyelids and his breathing quickened. He moved closer to blue-clothed man sitting next to him and flung his arms around his waist. He started weeping again, this time it was much louder and stronger than before. 

He felt Mr Wright’s strong arms surround him and hold him closer to his chest. Violent tremors shook Luke’s body as took a deep breath and let out a loud wail of despair. He held on tight as Mr Wright started rocking him back and forwards in his arms. 

Luke didn’t know too much about Phoenix Wright. He wouldn’t act this way around any person other than the professor. However, the attorney was the only person he had left. He couldn’t trust Maya after what had happened, so this man was the only person originating from outside Labrynthia that he could truly depend on.

He had lost a piece of himself when his mentor was attacked, so he trusted Mr Wright to be that missing piece.

But he knew, no matter how hard he tried, Phoenix would never be able to completely fill the gaping hole in him. 

He would never be able to truly replace the missing piece that was his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s part two done!
> 
> Thank you for reading and I dearly hope you stick around my profile to see what else I upload!
> 
> I’ll be posting another one shot, but I promise it will be more light-hearted than this one.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not crying, you’re crying!  
> That poor kid just can’t stop getting traumatised, even in a crossover game. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. If enough people request it, maybe I’ll write a second chapter based on Luke’s perspective.


End file.
